Blaze at Brenntag warehouse sends thick smoke across London

LONDON (ICIS)--A fire which broke out at a Brenntag warehouse in ?xml:namespace>Greenwich, southeast London, on Monday has sent thick smoke across the capital's skyline.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said that at the height of the incident, 12 fire engines and around 60 firefighters tackled the blaze in the early hours of the morning. Firefighters were called at 03:27 local time and the fire was brought under control by 06:48, the LFB said.

Germany-based chemicals distributor Brenntag said that no personnel were injured and that damage appears to be confined to one warehouse. It added a full investigation into the fire has begun.

LFB assistant commissioner Dany Cotton said the fire had damaged around half of a big industrial unit, without going into specific detail.

“A range of industrial units which contained chemicals were damaged by the fire. A loud siren sounded to alert people about the fire due to the chemicals contained within the buildings,” the LFB added.

The LFB said the smoke from the blaze is not harmful, however as a precaution, fire chiefs have advised people in the area to keep their doors and windows closed as a precaution.

Fire crews will remain at the scene of the fire for at least the rest of the morning today and LFB’s fire investigators are on the scene to establish how the blaze started, it said.